I'll See You Again
by T. F. Crosby
Summary: While visiting her brother in the hospital, Alex gets lost on her way to the cafeteria, winding up on the cancer ward where she runs into someone she once held close.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first WOWP story. I won't say which episode gave me the idea because I don't want to give anything away (though my summary might). It was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but got to long for that. at least, for me anyway. Hope you enjoy._

**WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE**

**I'll See You Again**

Chapter One

Sunlight seeped in through the blinds, cascading a dim light into Alex Russo's bedroom. On any other day she would simply roll over in bed and pull the covers over her head. But this particular morning was a little different. Her older brother Justin had had surgery—nothing too serious—yesterday and she was eager to get there. _So she could annoy him when he couldn't do much fighting back. _

Alex hopped downstairs, a grin plastered on her face, and was met by her parents—two very confused parents.

"Alex, what are you doing up this early?"

She looked at her mom shocked at the tone in her voice. The tone that said "I know you're up to something." "Mother…. Can't a younger sister be eager to visit her beloved older brother who's in the hospital?"

Jerry and Teresa looked at their daughter with incredulity.

"Okay, fine." She smiled on the verge of laughter. "He's incapacitated. He's easier to annoy that way."

"Now that's more believable," her dad said.

"Okay, let's go. We can grab breakfast on the way." Both of her parents grimaced at her. "What?"

"Alex, we have to wait for Max," her mother said.

"Pfft…. Max can find his own way to the hospital."

"Alex," Jerry chided.

"Okay…." She groaned and flopped down on the couch.

Teresa looked at her husband. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think this was really sweet of Alex."

Jerry nodded. "But we know better."

* * *

Justin Russo was enjoying the solitude of his hospital room. Aside from the soreness—and the fact that he was still quite uncomfortable—from his surgery and the doctors and nurses coming in and out of his room, everything was quite all right. Then a sudden shiver ran up and down his spine.

"Oh, no," he said aloud. "My tranquility is about to end."

His younger sister bounded into his room. "Hey, Justin."

He pursed his lips. "And there it is." He looked at her. "Hi, Alex."

"How ya feelin'?" She sat down on the bed by his legs.

"I'm fine. Sore…but fine."

She stared at him, smiling.

"Please, stop doing that," he said, slightly unnerved. "It's very disconcerting."

Letting out a laugh, she said, "Oh, Justin, Justin, Justin. You know I have no idea what that means."

"And even if you did, you wouldn't care."

"No, not really."

"Alex, don't annoy your brother," Teresa said as she walked in.

"Yeah, save it for home," her dad added.

Teresa looked at him in a scolding manner. "Jerry…."

"What?"

"Oh, come on," Alex said. "I need new places to annoy him at."

"No, ya don't," Justin replied flatly.

"If Alex can't annoy him, can I?" Max piped.

He was met with a resounding "No." And then he shrugged.

Teresa quickly clicked into mother-mode and hurried over to her oldest child. "Oh, sweetie. How're feeling today?"

"Good. Sore but good."

She gave him a kiss.

Alex flopped into a chair and Max…continued to be Max while their parents oogled over Justin. She started to sing to herself, one of those songs that annoy everyone except for the person that's singing it.

"This is the song that doesn't end….Yes, it goes on and on my friend…" she sang, gradually getting louder.

Then Max joined in.

"Would you stop singing that," Justin growled.

"Can't. It doesn't end," Alex quipped.

Her parents grimaced.

"Yeah, okay…fine." She sat in silence for a moment. "Okay, I'm bored." Her stomach growled. "And hungry."

She looked at Max who was staring at the monitor, then heard her dad say, "Max, don't touch that."

"Yeah, that's my cue," she said, standing up. "I'm hungry, so I'm going down to the cafeteria…or whatever."

"Okay, sweetie," Teresa answered. "No magic. And be careful."

As she walked out she quipped, "I'm in a hospital. What does it matter?"

Justin looked at his parents. "She's gonna get lost."

"Oh, yeah."

"Definitely."

Max poked at something. "What's this do?"

"Max!"

* * *

Alex had heard Justin's comment. "I am not gonna get lost. I can read signs." She laughed at herself. "Who am I kidding? I don't read signs."

Lost in thought—mainly thinking of new ways to annoy Justin—she completely missed the signs pointing the way to the cafeteria and other food spots.

"Hospitals should have food courts," she said to herself as she wandered down the hallway towards the elevators. "Just because it's a hospital doesn't mean all the food _has_ to be healthy. Hey, if you get sick, yer already at the hospital. You won't hafta go very far." She stepped onto the elevator. "Oh, I crack me up." And pressed a random button.

She was lost already, so what did it matter what button she pushed. It would be better if they were Justin's buttons she was pushing. Yep, she was on a roll.

When the doors opened she stepped out, having absolutely no idea what floor she was on, except for the number. Sort of. As she walked into the hallway she caught the sign on the wall.

"Cancer ward." She shrugged and decided to go ahead and wander around for a bit. She wasn't that hungry, anyway. Besides, she swore something was pulling her there.

* * *

Alex wandered down the hallway, occasionally stopping to talk to a patient who was out of their room, wandering around. None of the doctors or nurses seemed to be bothered by her presence. In fact, she even talked to a nurse or two.

She passed a few rooms that were brightly lit by sunlight, including one whose occupant was seated in a wheelchair in the doorway. They exchanged pleasantries and she continued on her way. Two rooms down, Alex was stopped by an open door to a dimly lit room; shades obviously drawn. She looked up at the name card.

"Moriarty. Dean?" She stared at the name card. "No way. It can't be. It's another Dean Moriarty."

She started to walk away but stopped short. Something was tugging at her. Something was telling her to go back. She turned around and stared at the doorway of the room. Taking a tedious step forward, she walked back to the room and stared in.

"You know him?"

Alex jumped. Turning her head she saw the young man in the wheelchair now next to her. "Oh, my gosh. You scared me."

"Sorry," he said with an apologetic grin.

After she gathered her composure she said, "It's okay. Uh…what did you ask?"

"Do you know him? Dean."

"Uhm…I'm not sure. I mean I knew a Dean Moriarty in high school, but…I don't know if that's him. We haven't talked to each other in almost a year."

"Well, Dean and me have talked a bit. Uh…what school did you go to?"

"Tribeca Prep," she answered, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's one of the schools he said he went to."

Alex kept her shock inside. "It can't be him. There's no way. Not Dean."

"Why don't you go in and see," the young man said. "He's prob'ly asleep. I'm sure you'll recognize him when you see him."

"Yeah." She glanced at the young man and then tentatively walked into the room.

Over whelmed by the fear that it would be him, she slowed her pace, stopping a few feet from the bed. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "No…."

It was him. Her Dean Moriarty. She didn't know what to do. Walk over there. Leave. He was asleep after all. Maybe she'd come back later. As she turned to leave, she heard a familiar voice.

"Russo?"

Alex slowly turned around. "Dean?"

"Hey. What're you doin' here?" his voice sounded weak. Probably because he had just woken up. Or so she hoped.

"Got a little lost," she said softly.

"You in a hurry ta find yer way?"

She shook her head. "No."

A small smile appeared on his face. "Then, uh, why don't ya come have a seat for awhile. I ain't goin' anywhere."

She smiled softly. "Sure."

"Let me get the shades. Shed a little light." He slid of the bed and walked over to the window. "How's that?" he said, opening the blinds.

"Better."

"I suppose I coulda just turned on the lights," he added, sitting back down on the bed. "So what brings you out here? To the hospital, I mean."

"Justin had surgery yesterday."

"Yeah? How's he doin'?"

"He's still annoying. Figured they could remove what causes that, but they didn't."

He let out a small laugh as she gave him that smile; that smile he loved. The one that always made him smile.

"So how's the rest of the family?"

"Oh…they're…them."

He chuckled. "They're them?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." She tossed her hair back.

"What about your boyfriend? London bridges."

She grimaced. "Oh, Mason. Yeah…." She looked away as she spoke, then looked back at him. "I broke up with him."

"Sorry ta hear that."

"No, yer not," she said, gently pushing him with her shoulder.

"I'm serious. I am."

"Yeah, well…it's what he gets for believing an edited interview over me."

Dean grinned. "That officially makes him dumber than me."

A sly smile crossed her lips. "Yes, it does."

"Hey…. You're supposed ta say 'no, that makes you smarter than him.'"

She looked at him as if she were contemplating what he had just said, then smiled broadly. "Nah…."

"Oh, thank you so much."

"What?" she replied, trying not to laugh…too much.

Dean couldn't help smiling. He hadn't felt this happy in months. "Okay, now yer laughing _at _me."

"No…of course I'm not."

His expression suddenly turned sober.

"What's wrong, Dean?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"I'm just glad ya got lost and ended up here." His gaze fell to the floor for a moment. "I don't get alotta visitors other than my family." He looked back up at her.

There was an expression of sadness on Alex's face. "Oh, my gosh…Dean…."

"It's okay," he said, giving her a soft smile. "It's no big deal."

"Of course, it's a big deal," she insisted.

He shook his head. "Nah…. I really don't mind."

Dean couldn't help laughing when Alex suddenly switched gears. "You know, you look really cute with that do-rag on."

He smiled softly at her. "You would, too."

She smiled back at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he replied. The mood in his room suddenly changed from a light-hearted ambience to a solemn air.

She hesitated for a moment. "What kind of cancer do you have?"

"Leukemia. Acute myeloid leukemia," he answered. "High risk…apparently." He paused. "Not exactly sure what that means, except that it's not good."

"When did you find out?"

"A few weeks after the last time I saw you." Alex saw sadness creep into his eyes, though what it was for exactly, she couldn't put her finger on. "Had all these bruises I couldn't figure out where they came from. I was gettin' sick a lot. I was always tired. Even before I saw you again."

"But you looked great when I saw you."

"Well, I felt great. At least, that day, anyway. Though I was startin' ta feel kinda lousy when I left the substation."

She looked at him wide-eyed, as if apologizing for her choice that day. In a small way, she did feel bad for it.

"I mean physically," he continued, seeing the expression on her face. "Though maybe a little disappointed." He refused to lie about how he felt about her choice that day; choosing Mason over him. "Anyway, my aunt called my parents and when they got here they took me to the hospital for some tests. That's when I found out I had leukemia." Alex put her arms around him. "The docs got me into remission pretty quickly, but a few weeks ago, when I came in for a check-up—they ran some blood and bone marrow tests—they told me and my parents that I relapsed. The cancer came back."

Dean was scared. She could see it in his eyes.

"Came back with a vengeance," he continued. "Docs aren't sure if a bone marrow transplant'll work. Or that stem cell thing." He slid of the bed and walked over to the window.

Alex sat on the bed for a few moments, trying to wrap everything she'd just heard around her brain. Sighing heavily, she hopped off the bed and joined him at the window. "Where are yer parents?" she asked.

"Mom's down in the cafeteria with the younger sibs and Dad went to pick up my older brother at the airport."

"Ah." She stared at their reflection in the window. A tear trickled down his cheek. "Dean?"

He wiped his eyes. "Sorry. I'm, uh, just…."

"Scared," she finished.

He looked at her. "Yeah. I'm scared. I've never been so scared in my life. I'm more scared now than I was when I first found out I had cancer." More tears fell as he spoke. He wiped them away furiously. "I can't believe I'm cryin' in front of you."

Alex smiled softly. "I don't mind."

Dean returned her smile with one of his own and walked back to his bed, tears still falling. He sat back down on the bed; Alex sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a moment as Dean continued to wipe away his tears.

"You know," Alex began, "the harder you wipe away your tears the redder your cheeks are gonna be." She pushed his hand away and gently wiped his tears away with her thumb.

"I don't wanna die, Alex."

"You're not, Dean. Yer gonna fight this and yer gonna win." Dean gave her a thin smile; fear was still visible in his eyes. She put her hands on his face. "Repeat after me," she continued. "I am going to fight this."

"I am going to fight this," he repeated.

"I'm going to win."

"I'm going to win."

"Good. Now don't forget that."

"I won't."

Her stomach growled.

The smile he gave her this time was genuine. All the fear in his eyes was gone. "Hungry?"

"Uh, yeah…just a little bit. I was on my way to the cafeteria when I got lost." She smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, I'll call my mom and she can bring somethin' up to us."

"Okay. Sounds good to me. That way I don't hafta move."

Dean laughed. "I really miss that."

"Miss what?"

"That attitude of yours."

"Oh, Dean. Stop…."

He laughed again. "So, uh, pick yer poison." He paused. "Wow. Mr. Laritate really did rub off on me."

It was Alex's turn to laugh. "Yeah, he has that affect on people."

While Dean talked to his mother, Alex looked around the room. There wasn't much. A few pictures were hanging on the wall by his bed. Two drawings in particular stood out to her. They were colored sketches. One was of a vine and roses swirling around a tabby cat. The other was also of a cat; white with brown patches, one patch around its left eye, lying on a log fence. Whoever drew those pictures was an incredible artist. She looked down at the table next to his bed. A tri-fold frame with a photo in each slot sat next to a Garfield desk calendar. The photo in the right slot had two cats that looked remarkably similar to the ones in the sketches.

"She'll be up here with our food in a minute," Dean said as he hung up the phone. "Whatcha lookin' at?" he followed her gaze to the photos on the table. "Ah. My folks, my sibs, my cats."

"Aww…. Who drew the pictures of the cats? They're really good."

"The twins drew those."

"Twins?"

"My youngest brother and sister. Believe it or not, they're only nine."

"That's amazing."

"Yeah. They're real talented."

"Okay, not that this isn't a good conversation, but I need ta use the restroom."

He grinned. "It's right down the hall on the left."

"I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here." He smiled. "Not goin' anywhere."

"Yeah, you better not. I better not come back to an empty room." She started laughing as she walked out. "I did that to Justin once."

Dean furrowed his brow in confusion. "How'd she do that?"

**WWOP**

_And there it is. next chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

_My apologies for the wait. I was being lazy. hope you enjoy._

**Chapter 2**

When Alex returned to Dean's room he had their food and drinks set up on the tray table by his bed.

"Hey, where's yer mom?"

"She took my younger sibs home. They'd been here since breakfast and were gettin' a little antsy." He pulled the leafs of his tray table up. "My dad should be here with my older brother soon."

Alex sat down next to him.

"Roast beef sandwiches-with cheese-curly fries, sodas and apple slices." Dean grinned. "Gotta have at least one thing that's healthy, right?"

She laughed. "Yeah, okay. But don't tell anyone I ate any. My parents might get ideas."

He smiled and laughed lightly.

"Oo...hold on a minute." She crawled around him, picked up the tri-fold frame and crawled back to her spot next to him.

"You know, if you wanted to look at it, I coulda just handed it to ya," he said with a smile.

"Ah, pfft..." She waved her hand at him in dismissal. "Where's the fun in that?" She sat the frame down in front of them and pointed at the center photo. "Okay, names and ages."

"That's my older brother, Ryan, he's twenty-two." He pointed to each person as he gave their name and age. "That's my older sister, Lori, she's twenty. My younger brothers, Nolan, fourteen, Kaden, twelve...and the twins, my brother, Devin and my sister, Erin. They're nine."

"Ah, yes. The little artists."

They continued their conversation as they ate; catching up on each other's life. Neither one of them could stop laughing at Alex's stories about her brothers or Dean's stories about working for his uncle. He had just finished telling her about his incident at the zoo in Ohio when his phone rang.

"Hey, Dad...Yeah, that's no problem...Mom brought me some lunch...Nah, I ate with a friend...Yeah...Okay, see ya guys in a bit...Love you, too, Dad...Bye."

As he hung up Alex said, "Let me guess. That was yer dad."

"You're a real wiz, Russo." He grinned.

"Yeah, I know...Moriarty." She sighed. "I should prob'ly get going. My parents might be missing me. Justin, no." She laughed. "Max prob'ly doesn't even know I'm gone. Oh, well."

"I missed you." He smiled softly. "And I will when you leave."

"Aww...that's so sweet," she said, pushing his arm playfully. She slipped off the bed with Dean following. "Well, I'd better get unlost before my mom sends out the cavalry." She gave him a hug then headed for the door.

"Hey, Alex." She stopped and turned around. "Thanks for stopping by."

She smiled. "You're welcome. And I will be back." Walking away from his room she said to herself, "I missed you, too, Dean."

* * *

As she walked back to the elevators, she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She wanted with every fiber of her being to believe what she had said to him; how he was going to fight and win. But part of her knew that he wasn't going to win; that his battle with leukemia was a losing one. And that hurt her more than anything she had already been through.

When she finally reached the recovery ward Justin's room was on, she stopped briefly to regain her composure. She didn't want to walk in there crying.

"Get it together, Alex."

Though she was able to push back her tears, she couldn't hide the overwhelming sadness in her heart that had crept its way onto her face.

She took a deep breath and walked into the room. The four of them had obviously just finished eating.

Seeing her walk in, Justin said, "There you are. Wondered where you were."

"Yep. Here's Perry."

"Where were you?" her dad asked. "We were just about to call you."

"Just got a little lost. Ended up on the cancer ward. Saw Dean. No big deal," she said quickly.

"Dean?" her mother queried.

"Yeah." She started to play with her necklace. "He has leukemia."

Justin wanted to say some kind of smart remark about Dean, just for his sister's sake; but it faded away as soon as she said "leukemia."

"Oh, sweetie." Teresa wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Why Mom? Why Dean? What did he do?" Tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks again.

"I don't know, mija."

"What did he do to deserve that?"

"No one does anything to deserve getting cancer," her dad said.

Trying to lighten the mood for herself she said, "Not even people who smoke?"

Jerry smiled. "Not even people who smoke."

* * *

Over the next two weeks she visited Dean almost daily. Justin had been released a week after her initial visit with Dean, much to Justin's dismay. That moment made it officially official: her older brother was insane. When she shared the event with Dean he told her that if Justin were in his position, he would quickly change his tune.

"I just wanna go home, ya know," he said to her on one visit. "It stinks havin' ta be here all the time. I _can _go out and do things with my family, but I always hafta come back here."

"Hey, you'll be outta here in no time," she assured him. "Doing all the things you did before."

He smiled at her. "Yeah."

On another visit some time later, Dean was really feeling the effects of his treatment. He'd been throwing up all morning. His parents were with him when she came in and his stomach was about to turn on him again. She sat down on his bed as he made a beeline for the bathroom, his dad right behind him.

When his mom stepped out to get him some more water, Alex stepped towards the bathroom to check on him. What she heard him say to his dad broke her heart. But his dad's response lifted it.

"Hey, Dad?" she heard him say.

"Yeah, son?"

"If something were to happen to Mom and the others...would you leave me? Ya know, because I'm sick and all."

Alex felt her heart sink at those words.

"No, of course not, son. What in the world would make you think that?" his dad replied gently.

"I was readin' this story in one of those magazines they got layin' out in the game rooms about this kid with cancer. He was in a car wreck with his mom and sister and both of them were killed. When his dad came he said to the nurses 'Why couldn't my healthy child've survived?' Then he left him."

Alex could hear the tears in his voice. As sad as it made her, his dad's response made her smile.

"I would never leave you, Dean. No matter what happened to the rest of our family. I love you, son."

"I love you, too, Dad."

* * *

Alex sat on the couch with Harper, watching a movie. Harper had tagged along with her on her last visit with Dean. Though Harper, being herself, started to freak out as they neared his hospital room. She was ready to bolt, yelling out "See ya in P.E.!" as they got to the doorway; but as soon as she saw him...

"Oh, my gosh," she gasped.

Alex grabbed her arm, "Come on," and dragged her in.

"Hey, Alex. I see ya finally convinced Finkel ta come," Dean said with a smile as soon as he saw them walk in.

A shocked and happy expression appeared on Harper's face. "Oh, my gosh, you remembered my name."

Dean grinned. "It was bound to happen."

* * *

Harper stared at Alex who had suddenly begun to laugh.

"Apparently, I missed something," she said.

"Oh, sorry, Harper. I was thinking of something funny."

"Clearly. Hey, are you gonna see Dean today?"

"Nah. He's spending the day with his family."

"You know, you should invite Dean and his family over for dinner."

Alex looked at her best friend in amazement. "Wow...this's weird coming from you. But that's a great idea."

"Hey, Mom. Mom-mom-mom," Alex rambled, running up to the kitchen counter.

"Yes, Alex."

"We need to have Dean and his family over for dinner."

"That's a great idea, mija."

"What's a great idea?" Jerry asked, walking up to the counter with a box in his arms.

Teresa looked at her husband, then at the box, then back at her husband. "Do I wanna know what's in that box, Jerry?"

He thought for a moment. "No."

"Yay, box, great. Anyway, back to me, Alex Russo."

Teresa grimaced at her husband then turned back to her daughter. "Sorry, sweetie. Having Dean and his family over for dinner is a great idea."

"Oh, that's great," Jerry said, slightly bemused. "You know, I really like that kid."

Alex grinned her usual grin and tapped the counter. "Yeah, that's great." She quickly added, "I'm gonna go call Dean."

* * *

Two days later, Alex went to see Dean. He hadn't been feeling well the day before, so she decided to wait until today for an actual visit. It had been a month since that first day she saw him after getting herself completely lost.

"Hey, Dean," she greeted, stepping into his room.

"Hey, Alex," he greeted back with a smile.

She walked over to him and ran her hands over his new, soft hair. "Ooo...it's so soft. It's like a kitten."

"Softer than the last time. Now that I'm off the drugs that made my hair fall out, it'll stay that way."

"Why'd they take you off them?" she asked.

"They weren't doin' their job anymore." His expression fell. "Actually, none of the drugs are doin' their job. They're gonna put me on some new drugs ta see if those work. But they're just gonna put in a port and let me do my chemo at home...just coming back in periodically."

"Oh, Dean." She gave him a hug, trying to keep herself from crying. "When are you going home?"

"Tomorrow. But we are still on for dinner at your house."

"Oh, great." She pulled away. "And don't worry. We're not having subs from the sub shop. My mom's cooking."

"Can't wait."

* * *

Saturday, the day for Dean and his family to come to the Russo home for dinner, finally rolled around. Alex spent most of the morning and early afternoon begging her dad to allow her to tell Dean she was a wizard. After a seemingly endless string of 'please, Daddy' and eyelash-batting, Jerry finally caved.

"Okay, fine. You can tell him."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Yeah...go help yer mother." Justin stared at his dad. "What?"

"Really, Dad. Really."

Max sighed. "Man, sometimes I wish I could be a girl, just for a little bit." Justin and Jerry stared at him. "What?"

Justin grimaced. "Do you do this on purpose?"

"Okay..." Alex began, getting her dad's and brothers' attention, "you have two hours to keep acting like weirdoes."

"Why two hours?" Max queried.

"Because in three hours Dean and his family will be here."

"But Dean knows us," her dad said.

"Yes, but his parents don't."

The three of them stared at her. "So," Justin began, "why do we need to stop being weird in two hours when they'll be here in three?"

"Because...you need an hour...to practice being nor...mal..." She turned towards the fridge for a moment, then turned back to them. "I don't want you scaring them off."

Harper, now standing between the two groups of Russos, piped up. "You know there's no way they're gonna be normal by then."

"I know. But a girl can dream."

* * *

When the Moriartys arrived introductions were barely made before Alex was dragging Dean away. They managed to get through Dean's parents, Sean and Amy; but she already knew everyone—meeting each of them while visiting Dean in the hospital—and they knew her and Dean knew her family. So pleasantries weren't necessary.

"Come on, I wanna show you something," she said, dragging Dean down to the substation.

Her mom called out after her but she pretended not to hear.

"I think yer mom's callin' you," Dean said. "Something about dinner bein' almost ready."

"Oh, don't worry. She'll just send Justin down ta get us."

"Okay, so what do you wanna show me?"

"You'll see." She pulled him into the sub shop kitchen and stopped in front of the freezer.

"You wanted ta show me the freezer?"

"Pfft...No. But it is a nice freezer, isn't it?"

"You're crazy," he said smiling.

"Oh, you know you love that about me."

"True." He watched her pull out her wand. "What is that? Some kind of magic wand or somethin'?"

She smiled. "Exactly."

He furrowed his brow as he watched her trace the door with her wand and the glow that followed. "Whoa..."

She opened the door. "Come on."

Dean looked around the room, wide-eyed. "Whoa... What is this place?"

"It's the Wizard's Lair," she answered. "It's where me and my brothers have our wizard lessons."

"So...is everything in here magical?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay, so show me some magic. Besides turning yer freezer inta this."

She smiled. "Okay."

With a wave of her wand everything went dark.

"It's pitch black," Dean said flatly. "Am I missin' somethin' here?"

"Hold on a minute, Mr. Impatient."

Suddenly, a small ball of light appeared in front of Dean's face. It made a series of sounds, like it was talking to him. "This isn't one of those wil-o'-the-wisp thingies, is it?"

"Pfft...No," Alex replied with a quick, dismissing wave of her hand.

A second one appeared. Then a third.

"What are these things?"

"I have no idea," Alex said. "I just think they're really cool."

Dean reached out and touched one. It danced along his fingers as more began to appear. He smiled broadly as the small orbs danced around him. He was absolutely fascinated by them. The orbs began making rhythmical sounds that sounded like...

"Singing," Dean said. "Are they singing?"

The orbs began to fly away from them as the darkness began to fade into light, revealing a beautiful forest.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Some place magical," she replied with a soft smile. She took his hand. "Come on."

She led him through the forest to the tree line. They were at the edge of a hill that sloped down into a beautiful green valley; a river cut through.

"Wow... This's amazing," he breathed.

"Have you ever taken a ride down a waterfall?" she asked, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Dean looked at her with a lopsided grin. "Uh...no."

"Come on."

They walked along the tree line to the riverbank. Halfway there, Dean began hearing the roar of the waterfall and could smell the petrichor from the—no, wait. That wasn't the right word. He shrugged internally. Whatever the word for 'the scent of water,' if there was one, was what he smelled.

"This place is beautiful," he said after a few moments of silence. "Almost as beautiful as you." He lifted up her hand and kissed it.

"Aww...Dean... When did you become so romantic?"

"When I started ta listen to my mom and sister."

She smiled. "Here we go," she said as they walked onto the bank of the river.

"A log raft?" Dean looked at her.

Still smiling, she said, "Only way to travel down a waterfall."

He shrugged and stepped onto the raft. Turning to face her, he held out his hand for her. She took his hand and stepped onto the raft. Once Alex was seated Dean untied the raft from the post and pushed off, quickly taking a seat behind her. They floated along slowly for a few moments before picking up speed.

"Whoa. We're really pickin' up speed now," Dean said. "Here. Hold on to these straps."

"What're you gonna hold onto?"

He grinned. "You."

"What if I let go?"

"Then we'll both go overboard."

"You make a very in'tresting 'knight in shining armor'."

"I know." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Before she could respond they hit the top of the waterfall. "Here we go, Russo."

"You better hold on, Moriarty," Alex shouted over the roar of the water.

"I plan on it...!"

The raft went over the waterfall, plummeting hundreds of feet to the river below. They were laughing hysterically when they hit the water.

"That was awesome," Dean shouted. "Hey, why didn't we go under at all?"

"Hello...magic."

"Right, right. I forgot." He sat back slightly, relaxing and keeping his arms around Alex. "Where does this river go?"

"Ocean." She paused in thought. "I think. Oh, well, who really cares?"

Dean smiled and laughed.

"Are you laughing at me?" she said in mock-irritation.

"Of course not."

"Good."

The further they got away from the waterfall the quieter the river became. They floated along through the valley, enjoying the scenery and each others' company. Dean looked up at the high cliffs and massive rock formations surrounding the river estuary and to the wide opening that led out to the ocean.

"Okay," Alex began, "so it doesn't exactly go right to the ocean. It goes to an, um, an..."

"Estuary," Dean finished.

"Yeah, that's it. Aren't you a smarty."

He smiled. "Yeah, kinda happens when you pay attention."

The raft picked up a little speed and ran into the bank. Dean grabbed the rope and tied it to a rock formation that resembled a tiny version of the Grand Tetons that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Magic. Right," he said under his breath.

He climbed onto the bank, then turned and held out his hand to take hers and help her off the raft.

"Why, thank you, good sir," she said as she took his hand.

"You're very welcome, m'lady," he replied and kissed the top of her hand. He looked back out through the opening into the ocean. A massive, Spanish galleon appeared about two hundred yards or so away. "Is that a Spanish galleon?"

"It's a pirate ship," she answered. "I'm pretty sure of it."

"Alex!" Her brother's voice echoed through the valley.

"Ugh. Of course," she groaned.

He grinned. "Ya know, I'd like to do this again sometime. But go on a real adventure. On a pirate ship, sailing the seven seas. Searching for treasure. Maybe run into Long John Silver or Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Maybe we could do that," Alex said, smiling.

He smiled back. "Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah, what is—"

Before she could get all her words out, he kissed her. The kiss he had been wanting to give her for a long time.

"Wow," Alex said breathlessly as he pulled away. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to. It may be my only chance."

"Alex!" They heard Justin call again.

"One more for the road?" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Dean smiled. "Definitely."

Moments later Justin appeared. "Hey, sorry ta interrupt, but uh, dinner's ready."

"Go on ahead, Justin," his sister said. "We'll be right behind you."

Justin pursed his lips. "Mm-hm."

Dean looked at him. "I promise."

"Okay, fine." He looked at his sister. "I'll let Mom know yer coming."

They gave each other their usual 'annoyed sibling' looks, then Justin left.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Dean said. His stomach growled.

Alex grinned. "I agree."

With a wave of her wand, the sky began to darken and the little orbs reappeared and began singing again.

"Man, I love these things," Alex said, grinning and laughing.

Dean smiled softly. "And I love to hear you laugh."

She smiled at him. The light faded in and they were back in the lair. She took his hand and they went back upstairs.

"Whatever you do, don't sit next to Max. We'll put my dad and Justin on either side of him."

Dean grinned.

* * *

After dinner, Alex and Dean stood out on the balcony, looking at the stars. Or at least what they could see of them.

"I had a great time," he said.

"So did I."

He put his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I wanna go out on a date. A real date."

"A _real _date, huh?"

"Yeah. Dinner at a nice restaurant. Maybe go dancing... Ya know somethin' we never did when we were actually dating."

Alex didn't say anything right away. She was enjoying the moment.

"So whada ya say?" he asked after a long silence.

"Dinner _and _dancing, huh?" She turned around to face him. "I'd love to." He smiled at her. "But not before our pirate adventure."

Dean took her hand and kissed the top of it. "A true romance."

As he leaned in to give her another kiss the door to the balcony opened. "Dean?"

"Yeah, Dad?" he said, turning to face the door.

"It's time ta go, son."

"I'll be right there." When his dad left he turned back to Alex. "One for the road?"

She smiled. "Definitely."

**wowp**

And there she is. I'm planning on writing a separate story about their pirate adventure. it just wouldn't fit within this one. in any case, hope this chapter was enjoyable.


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